Jolt to NC-Congress; Farooq, Azad bite dust

May 16, 2014 20:02 IST

In a major setback to ruling National Conference-Congress coalition in Jammu and Kashmir, the opposition Peoples Democratic Party and the Bharatiya Janata Party on Friday shared the six Lok Sabha seats in the state as two Union ministers, including Farooq Abdullah, bit the dust.

Abdullah, NC patriarch and Union minister for New and Renewable Energy, tasted his first electoral defeat in over three decades.

The PDP's Tariq Hamid Karra humbled him in the Srinagar Lok Sabha constituency by a margin of 42,280 votes. Karra, a former Finance minister in the then PDP-led government in Jammu and Kashmir, polled 1,57,923 votes against Abdullah's 1,15,643.

It was a comprehensive defeat for 76-year-old Abdullah as his party lost in 12 of the 15 assembly segments comprising the Srinagar Lok Sabha seat, considered to be the stronghold of National Conference.

Singh polled 4,87,369 votes against Azad's 426393 as the PDP's Arshid Malik came a distant third with 30458 votes. This was the first time Azad, a former chief minister, had contested the Lok Sabha election from the state.